Gluttony The Dominant Characteristic of the Characters

26 committed by Pyncheons. The house in which they live is on a root of sins. The ancestor has done the sins in his life. And the sins exist in Pyncheon family. The sin also becomes the basic to build the house. And it seems that the sin has colored the life of Pyncheon family ever after. The house established on the root of the sins has seven gables facing to almost all directions. I suspect that the seven gables have symbolical meaning toward the Pyncheon characters. It has been discussed that the ancestor of the family has establish the house motivated by his greedy nature. I strongly assume that the seven gables decorated Pyncheon’s house signify the seven deadly sins among the characters. The Pyncheons are wrong since they do things unrightly. The wrong doings are analyzed as follows:

4.2.1 Gluttony

The first sin express in Hawthorne character is gluttony and represent in Clifford Pyncheon. During his living in the House of the Seven Gables after being released from the prison, the guest of the House of the Seven Gables, as considered by Phoebe with his strange and vague murmur, shows his very tasteful appetite. It is caught when he has the first breakfast Hebzibah and Phoebe prepare since his return. There are the broiled fish, the mocha with its typical fragrance, Phoebe’s Indian cake, and her country pure churned butter. It is done so because Hebzibah has already known his brother appetite and is eager to please him. The delicious meal on the table is able to change Clifford’s dull face. It has gone in a moment and changes become bright showing “a charm of wonderful 27 beauty”. The beauty expressed by Clifford is actually “a look of appetite”. Then, he eats the food in a hurry. It shows how gluttonous Clifford in meal. And he seems forget anyone else including himself. “More, more”he cried. “This is what I need” “Give me more” this fact of Clifford’s nature really displays the sin possessed by Clifford. In him, the substance of animal being seems growing clearly. 6 It was a look of appetite. He ate the food with what might almost be termed voracity; and seemed to forget himself, Hebzibah, the young girl, and everything else around him, in the sensual enjoyment which the bountifully spread table afforded. In his nature system, through high wrough and delicately refined, a sensibility to the delights of the palate was probably inherent p.90 How gluttony Clifford, for having a very tasteful appetite and needing much food, is also described by the Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon. From his sentences toward Hebzibah , it is revealed that Clifford is a glutton. During his life, Clifford needs to have much and tasteful food. It is the reason proposed by the Judge to offer any help to Hebzibah, because she lives in poor. 7 “Now, at length, you have something to live for. Yes, and all of us, let me say, your friend and kindred, have more to live for than we had yesterday. I have lost no time in hastening to offer ant assistance in my power towards making Clifford comfortable. He belongs to us all. I know how much he requires, and how much he used to require, with his delicate taste, and his love of beautiful. Anything in my house, pictures, books, wine, luxuries of the table, he may command them all It would afford me most heartfelt gratification to see him p.95 28

4.2.2 Envy